The Project Riandu build site is alive with activity. Under the instruction of the school’s Board of Managers, St Mary Magdalene School for the deaf is growing by the day. In this blog, we bring you the latest stories from one of the build teams. On site we have a fantastic mixture of workers: students from the deaf school, Kenyan student volunteers, UK student volunteers and ever-patient skilled labourers to guide us in the build. They are all working together with the same mission: to expand this school to be able to provide deaf teenagers from across eastern Kenya with the empowering benefits education brings. Day by day this involves digging, brick-laying, sawing, cement mixing, wheelbarrow racing and landscaping. The work is hard and the sun is hot. As a quick reminder, there is 1 x kitchen, 1 x dormitory block and 1 x teaching block currently completed. Right now, we are building 1 x teaching block, 1 x dormitory block, 1 x gatehouse and the perimeter fence. We aim to make this school large enough for 200 students, as the demand requires. The teams we have are Wazito (strong), Conqueror Elephant, Simba (Lion), Farasi (horse) and Termite Queen. You will notice, with time, that each team is sporting a different colour of tie dye t-shirt. Let’s hear how the first week on the build-site was for Team Wazito…

“Working alongside each other is a big mix of fun, hard work, and a lot of learning. We have all learnt a lot of skills on the job during landscaping, metalwork, mixing mortar, building walls and making supports for concrete. We have also had to be a little creative in our methods, it is amazing what can be done with a few off-cuts of wood and second hand nails (don’t worry, it’s all safe!!).

Communicating has been a challenge that has been fun. Passing instructions through Kenyan Sign Language (KSL), Swahili and English has been an amazing experience, and one that we have embraced with an open mind. Learning to fingerspell (the alphabet in KSL) at the beginning was very valuable. As well as language, we have been teaching each other about our cultures and getting to know each other. Yesterday we had some interesting discussions about relationships in the UK compared to Kenya! We have had one “extremely dangerous” encounter with local wild life! As we were digging and moving rubble during the day, a massive, terrifying cobra jumped out at us. Luckily, quick as a flash, Zachary (a fearless Kenyan volunteer) defended the camp from a sure to be snake infestation by attacking its head with a spade. The menacing 8 inch (thin as a pencil) beast stood no chance. The dead corpse was then kindly delivered to Ali Mac’s unsuspecting hand. Let’s hope that mummy cobra doesn’t find out. We have been getting very familiar with the various scorpions, furry caterpillars, frogs, spiders and lions (joke) that appear in every nook and cranny.

Works on the gatehouse using the bricks made on site (Team Simba!).

We all agree that one of the best feelings is at the end of a long day of hard graft, when you can step back and survey the day’s work. The progress we are making is fantastic. Each day the school feels increasingly real and ready to have impact. It is especially fantastic that the work is being done by such a large team of amazing people dedicated to the cause. Our biggest thank you goes to the school’s Board of Managers. They are working so very hard to manage the build-site works and to accommodate all the volunteers here on site. It is no easy feat to cater for 40 people in a rural village in Kenya. We are grateful for all the emergency trips for milk, fuel and maize that they are constantly doing for our benefit. We are so excited to be supporting their project and grateful to be invited into such an incredible vision. They are raring to go and cannot wait to get the school up and running. With the excited students working alongside us, this more than enough motivation to keep digging, keep sawing and keep smiling.” Great job Team Wazito! Please watch this space for more perspectives from the ground and more experiences from across the teams. Keep on your toes about when these updates will appear, limited internet means they could be very sporadic! To all the friends and family back in the UK, your loved ones here are doing very well and cannot wait to tell you all the stories they are collecting. Expect to greet more muscly versions of your volunteers upon their return at the airport (maybe with concrete still plastered in their hair). Please keep giving! We are seeing so clearly how far all the donations are going. A real school is being built here with real students! Any small donations really can have a large impact for many years to come. There is a lot of work to do! https://mydonate.bt.com/events/projectriandu

The build team, church council and supporters at the Local Church (Siambogo) on 09/08/15.